Casket sealing construction



May 17, 1955 1 p wlLKlRSON 2,708,301

GASKET SEALING CONSTRUCTION Filed July 30, 1954 2 Sheets-Sheet l JIZ, PW',.soza

May 17, 1955 J. P. wlLKlRsoN GASKET SEALING CONSTRUCTION 2 Sheets-Sheet2 Filed July 30, 1954 llllllllllll @Elx United States Patent O GASKETSEALING CONSTRUCTION Jim P. Wilkirson, Waco, Tex.

Appiication July 30, 1954, Serial No. 446,862

9 Claims. (Cl. 27-2) This invention relates to casket closing andsealing mechanisms and is an improvement on the mechanism described andclaimed in my pending application, Serial No. 384,726, filed October 7,1953.

ln the mechanism of the pending application, one of the casket handlesat one end of the casket is swung up and down manually to operate a setof latches step-bystep, said latches being movable from fully retractedpositions to the positions of full engagement wherein they pull down thelid or lids to seal the casket and lock said lids. When the lid or lidsare closed, the latches cannot be seen and hence their positions(extended or retracted) cannot be determined. The result is that aninexperienced or inattentive operator of one of the mechanisms mightoniy partly lock and seal the casket before it is handled duringshipment or prior to an interment. The principal object of thisinvention is to provide a casketclosing and sealing mechanism which isso made that the latches will be fully extended when the handle isoperated, that is, the latches cannot be moved beyond fully extendedposition back towards or into fully retracted position unless theoperator so desires. Other objects will be understood from the followingdescription of the prer'erred embodiment of the invention shown in theaccompanying drawings forming a part of this specification.

ln the drawings:

Figure i is a vertical sectional elevation of a casket equipped with asealing mechanism embodying the invention, part of the casket beingbroken away;

Figure 2 is a section on line 2 2 of Figure l;

Figure 3 is an elevation showing part of the latchoperating mechanism,the cover being removed to show the construction;

Figmre 4 is a detail in horizontal section on line 4 4 of Figure 3;

Figure 5 is an enlarged vertical sectional elevation showing themechanism, the operating handle, and part of the casket wall, lid andseal;

Figure 6 is a vertical section on line 6-6 of Figure 3; and

Figure 7 is a vertical section on line 7-7 of Figure 3.

Referring particularly to the drawings, I have shown part of a sheetmetal casket 10 Without any lining or finish on the interior orexterior, having two lids or caps 11, 12, lid 11 being at thehead endand lid 12 being at the foot end. Each lid is hinged upon the top of thecasket by at least two hinges, not shown here because they are aseparate invention. It should be understood that the present inventionmay be used on a casket having a single lid mounted by several hinges.

In accordance with my invention, each lid or cap has a pair of spacedkeeper pins 15 extending horizontally and rigidly xed in small recesses16 formed in the sheet metal lid adjacent the outer edge, said recessesopening on the underside to permit cam-action latches 17 to enter themto engage the keeper pins and draw down and lock the lid. Each latch 17is a at sheet metal member pivot-` a-lly mounted on a pin 18 xed in thecasket wall adjacent tassa ruice its top edge so that the latch mayswing in a vertical plane. Each latch i7 has a curved camming linger ldened by a curved siot 2) whose inner wall (toward pin 18) is an arcwhose center is pin 13, While its outer wall is arcuate on a differentcenter and extends outwardly in such a way that the slot 26 is wider atits opening or outer end than at its inner end. The camming nger of eachlatch engages keeper pin 15 and acts to draw down the casket lid andpull it tighter as the latch swings counter-clockwise, until finally thekeeper pin is seated in the inner end of slot 2i?. The lid is thentightly locked and the plastic sealing gaskets 21, 22 (Fig. 5), locatedrespectively in the lid and in the top edge of the casket, are tightlycompressed to form a perfect seal around the entire perimeter of thecasket. This compression may amount to one-eighth of an inch or evenmore.

The lower end of each latch 17 is an operating arm or lever having apivot connection 23 with a reciprocating horizontal link 24 or 25 (onlypart of link 24 being shown in Fig. l). The two illustrated latches 17have identical angular positions and hence form with link 24 a parallelmotion linkage. The portion of link 24 which is not shown will beunderstood to have similar pivot connections with two latches (also notshown) which lock and seal lid 11 at the head end of the casket. Inshort, four latches 17 are operated simultaneously to lock or unlockboth lids. Link 25 extends to a pivotal connection with a crank arm 26which is xed on one end of a horizontal shaft 27 having bearingssupported on brackets 2S, 29 (Fig. 2) iixed at the foot end of thecasket. Shaft 27 is parallel to the foot wall Sii of the casket and hasanother crank arm 31 on its opposite end. Another latching mechanism,exactly like the described mechanism 15-25, is mounted on the front wall32 of the casket and the front edge of the lid or lids, the arrangementbeing such that both latching mechanisms are simultaneously operatedwhen shaft 27 is rotated; the two crank arms 26, 3l being rotated fromthe position of full latch retraction shown in full lines in Fig. 1 tothe position o complete locking and sealing indicated in dotted lines inthat figure. These extreme positions of the crank arms, it will benoted, are precisely apart.

Handle 35 at the foot end of the casket serves not only as a lifting andguiding handle but also is used as a lever to operate the latching andsealing mechanisms. The other end wall handle 36, at the head end of thecasket, merely serves as a conventional handle and need not bedescribed. Handle S5 is pivoted on a pin or pins 37 xed toy a sheetmetal bracket or plate 38 which is Welded to the foot wall 3d; thushandle 35 may be rocked up and down, as indicated by the dotted lines inFig. 5. A cam 39 is formed on the upper end of handle 35 and is of suchdimensions that it engages a lug or arm 40 xed as by a rivet upon a flatplate 41 which slides up and down like a plunger. Plunger 41 has twoaligned slots 42, 43 extending longitudinally. A headed rivet 44 passesthrough the lower slot 42 and is secured to a plate 45, while a hangedpin 45 passes through the upper slot 43 and is likewise riveted to plate45. Plate 45 may be welded to wall 30. A coil spring 47 is secured atits upper end to pin 45 (which is fixed) while at its lower end saidcoil spring is secured to a post 48 fixed to the slidable plunger 41;thus the plunger is normally pulled by said spring to its extreme upperposition as determined by the length of slots 42, d3. Slots 42, 43 guidethe plunger in its reciprocation responsive to lifting of handle 35(Whose cam 39 engages lug 40) and the pull of tension spring 37, whichopposes handle 35 when operated.

Near its upper end, plunger 41 carries an arm 50 having a pin-and-slotconnection 51 with one arm of a bellV crank lever 52 that is looselymounted on shaft 27.

Y vice versa.

Vpivoted at 63 to housing 64.

The other arm of bell crank lever 52 extends downwardly and carries apawl 53 by means of a pin.v 54, pawl 53 having a weighted end 55 andbeing rockable onpin 54. The toothed end 56 of the pawl engages aratchet wheel 57 which is fixed to shaft 27. Ratchet wheel 57 preferablyhas thirty teeth. A holding pawl 53 is pivoted at one end upon ahorizontal pin S9 (fixed to housing 64'to be described) to move in avertical plane, the free end of pawl 53 normally engagingy one of theteeth of the ratchet wheel. the ratchet'wheel, while pawl 53 is belowit. Each time plunger 41 is moved downwardly one stroke, by manipulationof handle 35, pawl 53 will be swung to push the ratchet wheel angularlythe width of one ratchet tooth. Pawl 58 merely lifts as the ratchetteeth pass under it, but its down-turned end engages each tooth in turnto prevent retrograde movement.

As the ratchet wheel preferably has thirty teeth, each lifting'of handle35 to operate plunger 41 will cause the ratchet wheel, and hence shaft27 and its crank arms 26, 31., to Vrotate one-thirtieth of a revolution.Thus fifteen oscillations of handle 35 will turn the crank arms throughhalfV a revolution or 180J that is, from the fullV line position of Fig.l to the dotted line position, or Handle 35 may be operated rapidly, sothat fifteen oscillations may consume only a few seconds.

To make it impossible to moveV the latches beyond the fully lockedposition, I have provided certain parts which will now be described.Secured to the ratchet wheel 57 near its periphery but at diametricallyopposite i points are two pins 6b, 6I. which project at right angles tothe plane of the ratchet wheel. These pins 60, 61 are provided to engageand rock a latch 62 which'is 62 carries Va slightly curved wire 65 whichisV struck by pins 6i?, 61' alternately as the ratchet wheel rotates,causing latch 62 to rock from the position of Figure 7 to that of Figure6. When the latch 62 has its lower end moved inwardly, said end willengage a notch 66 formed in the lower end of plunger 41, which will lockplunger 41 in its lowermost position. Further oscillation of theoperating handle 35 will then be ineifectiveto move plunger 41, hencethe latches cannot be moved. Itv Vwill be apparent that this automaticVlocking of plunger 4l to make the mechanism inoperative (so far aslatch movement is concerned) will take place after each fifteen strokesof the handle or twice in each revolution of crank arms 26, 33 (or shaft27). Pins 6i?, 61 are so placed that the automatic locking of plunger 41just described takes place whenr the lid latches are completelyretracted y(withdrawn within the edges of the casket) and also when thelid latches are completely locked, with the lids pulled down as tightlyas possible to make a secure seal all around.

To release the plunger latch 62, a spring-cushioned button 7d is mountedon plate 45 and has its inner end 71 extended through an aperture inplate 45 to be engageable with the lower end of plunger latch 62 whenthe button is pushed inwardly. Compare Figures 6 and 7. Latch-releasingbutton 70 is accessible on the outside of foot wall 39, adjacent theoperating handle 35. A housing 64 encloses the ratchet wheel, pawls andother partsof the mechanism, being secured by screws v 72 upon plate 45.Housing ,64 is preferably made airtight, even though shaft'2'7 passesthrough its walls, by

seals not shown, and a gasket may be located between' the housing'andplate 45 to seal oit the openings provided for operation of button 7i?andthe plunger-operating lug h. The ornamental fabric covering theinterior of the casket may completely conceal the entire mechanism,except for the outer end button 7l), which as shown in Figure 5 projectsslightly beyond the ornamental plate 3S but is scarcely noticeable.

From the foregoing description, it will be clear that the inventionVprovides a fool-proof mechanism which Pawl 58 is located above- Theupper end of latch makes it impossible to withdraw the lid latchesunless the operator wants -them withdrawn and 'deliberately pushes thelatch-releasing button 7i). The casket will remain locked and sealedexcept when unlatching is desired. Also the latches will be completelywithdrawn to descend into the recesses in the edge of the casket, whenthe handle is operated after pushing button 70.' T he latches will neverbe half way extended, to be in the way of the keeper pins 15 when thelids are closed down, or to allow the seals to separate if the lids have`been closed previously. At the same time, handle 35 may function as aylifting handle whenever the mechanism is locked against operation bylatch 62.

Obviously the invention is not limited to the particular mechanismdescribed herein but may have various forms within the scope of theappended claims. For instance, it is contemplated that a separateoperating lever, not a casket handle, might be used to operate thelatches as described herein, and Vsaid lever might be reciprocated Yinstead of being pivoted like the described operating handle. Such alever might be concealed or camouflaged by having the appearance of anornamental plate. Other changes will occur tothose skilled in the art.

Havingl described one embodiment of my invention, what I claim as newand desire to secure by Letters Patent is: Y

l. In combination, a casket having a cap or'lid hinged thereto; a latchmovably mounted on the casket; a keeper pin secured to the lid inposition to be engaged by theV latch when the lid'is closed; acasket-supporting handle pivotally mounted on one end of the casket; amechanism actuated by swinging said handle for moving said latch intoand out of lid-locking engagement with said keeper pin; an automaticallyacting mechanism for rendering the inst-mentioned mechanism immobileonly when the latch attains its full locking or fully released positionso that said handle is thenusable only as a handle; and anoperator-controlled means for releasing said automatically actingmechanism so that the handle may operate said firstmentioned mechanism.

2. In combination, a casket having a lid or cap hinged thereto;lid-latching means including movable latches; a lever movably mounted onthe exterior of the casket; a mechanism for operating said lid-latchingmeans, said mechanism being mounted on the interior of the casket; saidlever when moved manually causing said mechanism to operate saidlid-latching means to move to lid-locking position or to lid-releasingposition; means partly carried Y means so that the lid-latching meansmay again operate.

3. The invention defined in claim 2, wherein the lever is also ahandleconnected tothe casket so that the casket may be lifted thereby.

4. The invention defined in claim 2, wherein the means for automaticallystopping operation of said mechanism is a latch operated twice duringeach complete cycle of movement of said mechanism, and theoperatorcontrolled means is a spring-actuated button mounted on thecasket adjacent said lever and adapted vto be pushed inwardly againstits spring toengage the last-mentioned latch.

5. The invention defined in claim 2, wherein the mechanism for operatingthe lid-latching means includes a plunger having a lug engaged by saidlever to cause said plunger to move downwardly, a spring attached to theplunger causing it to move upwardly, means to guide the plunger in itsmovements,a pawl operatively connected with said plunger, a ratchetwheel operatively connected with said pawl, a shaft extendinghorizontally at one end ofthe casket, said ratchet wheel being fixed tosaid shaft,

a crank fixed to said shaft, and a linkage pivotally connected with theouter end of said crank and operatively connected with said lid latchingmeans.

6. In combination, a casket having a cap or lid hinged thereto;complementary lid-securing means on the casket and lid, and includingmovable latches; handles pivctalL,I mounted at opposite ends of thecasket for facilitating lifting and handling the same; a mechanismlocated almost wholly on the interior of the casket for operating saidlatches, step-by-step, said mechanism including a plunger having a lugwhich proiects through one of the end walls of the casket; the handlethat is mounted on the last named end wall having a cam which engagessaid lug when said handle is swung upwardly; a spring attached to saidplunger and normally holding it in uppermost position; a pawl operatedby the plunger; a ratchet wheel turned intermittently by the pawl; ashaft turned intermittently by the ratchet wheel; mechanism couplingsaid shaft with said latches; means locking said plunger automaticallytwice during each rotation of the ratchet wheel; and operator-controlledmeans accessible from outside the casket for releasing said automaticplungerlocking means.

7. Casket lid-locking mechanism including a plurality of swingablelatches, a linkage for swinging said latches simultaneously, a crankoperating said linkage, a shaft rotating said crank, a step-by-stepmechanism for turning said shaft including a lever adapted to be movablymounted on an end wall of a casket and movable manually, an automaticlatch for stopping operation or said step-by-step mechanism after apredetermined number of' steps, and an operator-controlled releasingmeans for releasing said automatic latch after engagement.

8. The invention dened in claim 7 wherein the stepby-step mechanismincludes a ratchet Wheel iixed to said shaft, a pawl for moving theratchet wheel, a reciprocable plunger having means for operating saidpawl, guide means for the plunger, means projecting from the plunger andengaged by said lever to eect movement of the plunger in one direction,a coil -spring automatically moving the plunger in the oppositedirection.

9. Casket lid-locking mechanism including a plurality or" swingablelatches; a linkage for swinging said latches simultaneously; andmechanism for operating said linkage including a lever, a reciprocableplunger operated by said lever, a pawl and ratchet assembly operated bythe reciprocable plunger, a shaft turned intermittently by said pawl andratchet, a crank on said shaft and connected to said linkage, a pair ofpins fixed to said ratchet and eX- tending outwardly therefrom, apivoted latch adapted to be engaged and swung by said pins, said plungerhaving a notch adapted to receive the end of said latch when it has beenswung by one of said pins, the pins being 189 apart on the ratchet andbeing so disposed as to trip the latch to engage it in said notch whenthe lid locking latches are at their full-locking or fully-retractedpositions, and operator-controlled means to release the latched plunger.

No references cited.

